TURNERS FALLS — Turners Falls will soon be able to improve its aging drinking water system and determine which areas of the system need the most attention, with a $40,000 grant.
Turners Falls is one of 10 communities in the state that will benefit from a pool of $388,000 in grants from the Baker-Polito Administration for improving drinking water systems or wastewater systems. Turners Falls is the only community in Franklin County to receive part of this grant.
A water engineering firm, Tata and Howard will assist Turners Falls in completing the asset management plan and hydraulic study.
“In general, what (the study) is going to do is provide Turners Falls water department with inventory of all their water infrastructure, including above ground and below ground,” said Karen Gracey, co-president of Tata and Howard.
Gracey specified that the grant is specifically for funding the plan and study; it will not fund water infrastructure replacements.
“I was very excited to see we were qualified,” said Mike Brown, superintendent for the water district, because past applications were rejected, and because a hydraulic study has never been done.
According to Brown, the firm will ask for information such as an inventory of mains, age of pipes, past inspection reports, dates of when wells were installed, and water quality tests.
“We’ll steer them in the right direction,” Brown said.
After compiling the information from the town, the engineering firm will recommend where money is best spent to improve water systems. For example, if a certain area has a history of water main breaks, perhaps that should be the priority of the town’s funds, according to Brown.
Like many towns and cities across the country, some of the water mains in Turners Falls are far past their prime, said Brown.
“Some are 80 to a 100 years old, some even older,” said Brown. “Those mains could be corroded or built up with mineral deposits,” which can imbue a smell or an odd taste, and affect water pressure.
The plan and study are to be completed by the end of May, according to Gracey, “so it will start as soon as possible.”